Father Christopher

Father Christopher (1849-1926) was an Irish-Mexican Catholic priest who served as the parish priest of Sahuayo in Jalisco, Mexico. In 1926, he was executed by a Mexican Army firing squad after he was accused of supporting the Cristeros.

Biography
Christopher was born in Ireland in 1849, and his Catholic family emigrated to Mexico to flee the Great Famine and oppressive British rule. Christopher was only seven when he arrived in Mexico, and he was raised speaking both Spanish and English. He devoted himself to the Catholic Church and became a priest, serving as the padre of the church of Sahuayo in Jalisco. During Plutarco Elias Calles' presidency, strict anti-clerical laws were passed, ordering all foreign priests to leave the country or be executed. Christopher did not consider himself to be a foreigner, as he had been in the country since he was 7, and he decided to stay at his parish. One day, the Mexican Army barged into his church and took him outside, where they accused him of supporting the rebellious Cristeros. Christopher was executed by firing squad in front of the church, becoming a Catholic martyr. His altar boy Jose Sanchez del Rio, who became a Catholic while doing menial labor for the church as punishment for an earlier prank on the priest, joined the Cristeros and was later canonized for his own martyrdom.